Identification, monitoring and assessment, and indicators

The Conference of the Parties,

1. Requests the Executive Secretary, in broad consultation with
Parties, drawing on the roster of experts, and in collaboration with other
relevant organizations, bodies and processes, to carry out the pending
activities set out in the work programme on indicators of biological
diversity as approved by decision IV/1 A of the Conference of the Parties
and, in particular, to develop:

(a) A set of principles for designing national-level monitoring
programmes and indicators;

(b) A key set of standard questions and a list of available and
potential indicators, covering the ecosystem, species and genetic levels,
taking into account the ecosystem approach, that may be used by Parties at
their national level and in national reporting and that also allow for
regional and global overviews on the state and trends of biodiversity and, if
possible and appropriate, any responses from policy measures;

2. Encourages Parties and Governments to establish or increase
regional cooperation in the field of indicators, monitoring and assessment
and invites the Executive Secretary to establish a process through which the
documents mentioned above are reviewed and broadly discussed at regional
workshops on the basis of case-studies submitted by Parties, Governments and
relevant organizations;

3. Acknowledges that the capacity of many countries, particularly
least developed countries, to reliably and consistently monitor indicators is
limited and that, therefore, indicators will need to be developed
incrementally over time, based on national priorities;

4. Invites Parties, Governments and organizations to undertake
appropriate actions to assist other Parties (particularly developing
countries) to increase their capacity to develop and use indicators.
Appropriate actions may include:

(a) Provision of training;
(b) Assisting in the development of national networks;
(c) Sharing experiences between and among countries, regions and
organizations involved in the development and use of indicators;

5. Requests the Executive Secretary to produce an interim report on
progress, including the ongoing work on indicators in the thematic and other
work programmes, for review by the Subsidiary Body on Scientific, Technical
and Technological Advice prior to the sixth meeting of the Conference of the
Parties and to submit a final report on the conclusions of this initiative to
the Conference of the Parties at its sixth meeting